Written Answers Wednesday 19 April 2006

Scottish Executive

Arts

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how a performing company aspiring to "national performing company" status, as referred to in Scotland’s Culture: Scottish Executive Response on the Cultural Review , can qualify for such status and when the set of qualifying criteria will be published.

Patricia Ferguson: The exact criteria for national performing arts company status are still being developed. The criteria will be used to assess both new applicants and, periodically, existing national performing arts companies. Once these criteria have been finalised and published it will be open to other performing arts companies which feel that they meet the criteria to apply. We expect the criteria to be published and to invite applications in 2007.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on when the lead professional concept, developed with the Home Office for use in the treatment of failed asylum seeking families with children, is expected to come into operation.

Robert Brown: Discussions with local agencies on when the lead professional arrangements will begin are on-going.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional involvement it will have in the development of the concept of a lead professional for failed asylum seeking families with children and from what profession these lead professionals are expected to come.

Robert Brown: The Executive will be fully involved in discussions about the role of lead professionals. Lead professionals are expected to be whoever is best placed to ensure the needs of the child are met, whatever their professional background.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it advocates the concept of a lead professional to help provide services for asylum seeking families with children before their cases are determined, as well as after their cases have fallen.

Robert Brown: Yes. Precise details are still to be agreed, but there is agreement in principle from all parties that lead professionals should work with the children of asylum seekers from the point at which they and their family are dispersed into the community.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it is having into the review of family removal processes and whether this is the review which was previously referred to by the First Minister.

Robert Brown: The Executive will make representations to the Home Office as part of its review of family removals. The review is that to which the First Minister referred at First Minister’s questions on 30 March 2006.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new procedures announced by it and the Home Office in respect of the treatment of asylum seeking families will ensure compliance with the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Robert Brown: None of the measures announced by the Home Office affect the duties that local authorities and others have under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, for example the duty on local authorities to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need, nor their ability to comply with those duties.

Civil Service Relocation

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Executive-funded jobs have been relocated across Scotland under its relocation programme and, of these, how many have been relocated to (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Dumfries and Galloway, (c) East Ayrshire, (d) South Ayrshire and (e) North Ayrshire.

George Lyon: Under the Scottish Executive’s Relocation Policy there have been 2,342 posts located to date: 2,180 posts located out-with Edinburgh and 162 remaining in Edinburgh.

  The jobs located there under the relocation programme since 1999 are set out in the following table.

  

 (a) Scottish Borders
 218 (Scottish Public Pensions Agency, Galashiels)


 (b) Dumfries and Galloway
 17 (NHS Central Registrar (small units initiative), Dumfries)


 (e) North Ayrshire
 140 (Accountant in Bankruptcy, Kilwinning)



  To date, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire have not benefited specifically from the Relocation Policy.

Council Tax

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of its review into the council tax anomaly which has affected the residents of Abbeyfield Homes and similar establishments.

Mr Tom McCabe: We are continuing to consider the way forward and will make an announcement in due course.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) hospital-based orthodontic consultants and (b) orthodontic specialists there were in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on NHS Scotland hospital-based orthodontic consultants is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Section B gives details of medical staff posts in NHS Scotland. In particular, table B8 and B9 shows the whole-time equivalent (WTE) and headcount number of consultants by specialty and NHS board from 1995 onwards. Latest available figures are at 31 December 2005.

  Information on the number of NHS Scotland hospital-based orthodontic specialists by grade and NHS Board is provided in tables entitled HCHS Orthodontic Specialists by NHS Board 1997-2005, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39378).

  Information on orthodontics specialists working in the general dental service is provided in the following table.

  Number1 of Orthodontic Specialists2 Working in the NHS General Dental Service; at 31 March

  

 NHS Board
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1
 9
 6
 3
 4
 4
 4
 5
 8


 Borders
 2
 1
 1
 1
 1
 1
 4
 4
 5


 Argyll and Clyde
 8
 10
 7
 5
 8
 8
 9
 9
 9


 Fife
 7
 8
 8
 8
 8
 9
 9
 9
 8


 Greater Glasgow
 14
 16
 17
 18
 17
 17
 16
 18
 19


 Highland
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 1
 1


 Lanarkshire
 8
 11
 10
 9
 11
 11
 10
 10
 10


 Grampian
 7
 6
 4
 4
 4
 5
 4
 4
 3


 Orkney
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Lothian
 15
 17
 19
 19
 20
 21
 21
 20
 22


 Tayside
 5
 4
 4
 6
 7
 5
 7
 8
 11


 Forth Valley
 3
 3
 4
 4
 4
 4
 4
 4
 4


 Western Isles
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Shetland
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scotland
 59
 67
 65
 67
 71
 71
 76
 80
 83



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. A dentist is counted once for each NHS board in which he/she was working. General dental practitioners (GDPs) enter into a contract with their local NHS board. A GDP may have more than one contract with an NHS board if he/she has more than one practice, and a contract with more than one NHS board if he/she practises in more than one NHS board area. As a result, the sum of the number of dentists in each NHS board area exceeds the number of dentists practising in Scotland.

  2. "Orthodontic specialists" here are defined as dentists (including salaried dentists) working in the NHS general dental service whose list numbers are limited to the practice of orthodontics. Any NHS dentist may provide orthodontic treatment if he/she has the appropriate dental qualification.

Dentistry

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23689 by Lewis Macdonald on 14 March 2006, within which NHS board areas the two further groups of Polish dentists will be placed.

Lewis Macdonald: To date the NHS boards which have indicated that they would like to recruit dentists from Poland in the next two phases are NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Lothian, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Tayside and NHS Western Isles.

Dentistry

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis grants and allowances for dentists to help with practice costs and improvements for the purpose of encouraging dentists to work for the NHS are allocated.

Lewis Macdonald: The conditions for payment differ depending on the type of grant or allowance. The various conditions are set down in the relevant Determination contained within the Statement of Dental Remuneration , a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39344).

Dentistry

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive to what groups of patients dentists are obliged to provide NHS treatment and whether this includes patients over 65.

Lewis Macdonald: Dentists are obliged to provide NHS dental treatment to patients they have registered under NHS arrangements. General dental practitioners who are independent contractors are not obliged to register any patients or patient groups under NHS arrangements.

Dentistry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how people not registered with a dentist on 1 April 2006 will be able to access a free dental check from that date.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what entitlement people not registered with a dentist on 1 April 2006 will have to a free dental check.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions it will make for people who are not registered with a dentist on 1 April 2006 and who wish to take up their entitlement to a free dental check.

Lewis Macdonald: All NHS dental examinations are free from 1 April 2006.

  Both independent and salaried dentists providing general dental services have the discretion to provide occasional NHS treatment to unregistered patients and this could include a free dental examination.

  To expand access to general dental services across Scotland we are investing £295 million over three years under the Dental Action Plan and a further £30 million over two years on improving dental workforce and premises.

Dentistry

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much more on average an NHS dentist can expect to earn under the new General Dental Services contract than under previous arrangements and how this figure has been calculated.

Lewis Macdonald: We are not currently introducing a new General Dental Services contract in Scotland.

Dentistry

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS dental fees will be raised on 1 April 2006, in light of the recommendations of Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration: Review for 2006.

Lewis Macdonald: Dental fees will be raised by 3% with effect from 1 April 2006.

Employment

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been employed in the private sector in each of the last five years.

Mr Tom McCabe: Public and Private sector employment in Scotland is officially published through the Scottish Quarterly Public Sector Employment (SQPSE) series. Estimates of private sector employment published in this series are calculated as total employment minus public sector employment. Public sector employment is calculated using administrative and survey data direct from public sector organisations. Public sector employment is defined using the National Accounts definition. The following table contains estimates of private sector employment in the last five years taken from the SQPSE series.

  Private Sector Employment in Scotland, 2001–05

  

 
 Private Sector Employment1


 Q4 2001
 1,801,400


 Q4 2002
 1,846,300


 Q4 2003
 1,843,800


 Q4 2004
 1,876,900


 Q4 2005
 1,880,700



  Source: Quarterly Public Sector Employment in Scotland Q4 2005.

  Note: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Enterprise

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the criteria used to determine the allocations for Business Improvement Districts complement the aims of its new regeneration strategy policy.

Mr Tom McCabe: Business Improvement Districts (BID) do not feed directly into the regeneration strategy but can contribute towards the regeneration of the areas in which they are located.

  BIDs are intended to be led by local businesses and will be largely funded by the same businesses. As a result, the main criteria used by the steering group to assess the applications for the Business Improvement Districts pilots announced on 19 March 2006 were evidence of engagement with, and involvement of, the business community in each area; support and backing from the local authority, and sustainability.

Equal Opportunities

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23069 by George Lyon on 21 March 2006, whether, in applying the gender duty, it will evaluate local authorities’ success in implementing equal pay and their compliance with the duty.

Mr Tom McCabe: The gender duty is contained in the Equality Act 2006 and does not come into force until April 2007. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) will be initially responsible for issuing compliance notices to public authorities who are deemed to be in breach of the gender duty. The Commission for Equality and Human Rights will take over this role when the EOC ceases later in 2007.

Equal Opportunities

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in respect of equal pay, it is aware of agreements and legal waivers that women have been asked to sign by some local authorities in relation to compensation, the value of their equal pay claims and their right to pursue such claims and, if so, whether it has issued any guidance to local authorities in respect of their obligations under equal pay, sex discrimination and gender duty legislation.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive is aware that offers of compensation have been made by some local authorities in return for employees waiving their right to pursue equal pay claims through the courts. These are issues for local authorities and their employees to determine and the Executive has no involvement in such matters.

  The Executive has not issued any specific guidance to local authorities in relation to their obligations under equal pay. General advice and guidance on such matters has, however, been published by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). The Executive is working closely with the EOC on the Code of Practice and accompanying guidance for the gender duty, which will be published in the summer of 2006. Gender duty legislation is contained in the Equality Act 2006 and does not come into effect until April 2007.

Equal Opportunities

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding it has budgeted to make available to assist local authorities to meet their obligations in respect of equal pay.

Mr Tom McCabe: The core local government finance settlement for 2006-07 was approved by the Parliament on 8 February 2006. This includes provision for the salaries and wages paid by local authorities. The settlement is largely unhypothecated and it is for councils themselves to determine how they spend this in line with local needs and priorities.

  While the Executive’s overall spending plans in the period up to 2007-08 have been announced, we have said that within the overall total we remain prepared to look again at the funding position for local government for 2007-08, subject to their on-going satisfactory progress on the efficient government programme.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to prevent the spread of sea lice and disease transfer from Scottish salmon farms, in light of Pan Fish’s stated aim of "lowest cost production" resulting from its proposed merger with Marine Harvest.

Rhona Brankin: Pan Fish has cooperated fully with measures to increase biosecurity, such as Area Management Agreements for lice control and the Code of Practice for Infectious Salmon Anaemia and other diseases. The company has reported that it has reduced its costs on sea lice treatments in Loch Fyne by adopting single year class production and synchronous fallowing, which are regarded as best practice. We would not expect the merger, if it happens, to lead to any increase in the incidence of sea lice or disease.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appointment of the new Regional Director for Immigration in Scotland will hamper or enhance the Fresh Talent initiative.

Robert Brown: This new appointment will help the Executive build on the existing positive links with the Home Office on managed migration.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what urgent action will be taken to provide parents with the alternative of single vaccines on the NHS, in light of the decision by the Chiron Corporation to withdraw its MMR vaccine from Italian and developing world markets because it may be associated with a higher rate of adverse side effects than other such vaccines.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are no implications for the childhood immunisation programme in Scotland because the Morupar MMR vaccine produced by the Chiron Corporation is not used in the UK.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of (a) hospital-acquired infection and (b) MRSA have been recorded in hospitals in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) hospital and (ii) age of patient.

Andy Kerr: Reporting of data is not mandatory for all healthcare associated infections (HAIs). The national mandatory surveillance system operated by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) produces quarterly reports about the incidence of blood borne MRSA and rates of selected surgical site infections at NHS board level.

  In the current HPS laboratory reporting system, rates are based on data from reporting laboratories and one laboratory may report aggregated information for several hospitals. Therefore, hospital-level information is not held centrally. Further information on MRSA rates can be accessed on the Health Protection Scotland website http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/infectious/hai/MRSA_Scot.htm.

  MRSA bacteraemia rates broken down by age in each of the last five years are as follows:

  

 Year
 Age Band


 0-14
 15-29
 30-44
 45-59
 60-74
 75-89
 89+


 2001
 3
 18
 52
 139
 335
 302
 36


 2002
 13
 13
 73
 141
 320
 269
 21


 2003
 7
 23
 53
 116
 251
 236
 28


 2004
 6
 20
 70
 145
 288
 305
 44


 2005
 8
 20
 72
 157
 282
 307
 37


 Total
 37
 94
 320
 698
 1,476
 1,419
 166

Housing

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses owned by housing associations have been demolished in the City of Edinburgh Council area in each year since 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Reporting of demolitions at council level was not introduced until 2003. There have been no demolitions of houses reported by Registered Social Landlords in the City of Edinburgh Council area for 2003 or 2004.

Immigration

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will have an input into the appointment process of the new Regional Director for Immigration in Scotland.

Robert Brown: No. The Regional Director will be appointed and employed by the Home Office.

Immigration

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its agencies will carry out the independent inspection of the immigration service in Scotland.

Robert Brown: Discussions on how inspection of the immigration service will work in practice are on-going.

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government regarding the creation of a national gun register.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive has worked closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) to determine the most appropriate and efficient means of ensuring that the information required by section 39 is held by all Scottish Forces, and is in discussion with the Home Office to facilitate the exchange and sharing of information that will facilitate full Great Britain compliance at the earliest opportunity.

Justice

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19185 by Colin Boyd QC on 28 September 2005, whether there are any further documents which were available to the inquiry into the shootings at Dunblane Primary School that can be made available to the public.

The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 2 May 2006: see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-06/wa0502.htm.

Colin Boyd QC: It has recently come to light that, due to an administrative oversight, a file of statements that was available to all parties to the Dunblane Inquiry, is not currently included within the documents held at the National Archives of Scotland. Extensive enquiries have been made to determine how this happened. It appears that at some point between the transmission of the files from the Inquiry Office to the National Archives of Scotland at the end of the Inquiry, and the cataloguing of the files at the National Archives of Scotland, the file was either inadvertently not included or mislaid. The file was therefore not part of the papers which were passed to the Crown Office in 2003 when consideration was being given to making inquiry documents available to the public and was not made available to the public in October 2005.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards use uniform evaluation criteria for the Doing Well By People with Depression initiative and, if so, whether it will provide details of the criteria.

Lewis Macdonald: The Doing Well By People With Depression Programme has commissioned an external evaluation which is due to report in June this year. The evaluation has been conducted to provide both quantitative and qualitative information and to do this will report on the following; impact of interventions undertaken by pilot sites in terms of service user experience and satisfaction, the effective use of resources including access and referral times, the profile of patients using the service and clinical outcomes following interventions.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards submitted bids for projects under the Doing Well By People with Depression initiative and how many were successful.

Lewis Macdonald: All NHS boards were invited to submit bids for projects under the Doing Well By People With Depression Programme in 2003. Of the then 15 health boards, a total of 11 sites applied for funding of which seven were successful. The seven sites to go forward were, NHS Argyll and Clyde, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Lanarkshire. The unsuccessful bids were; NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Lothian and NHS Shetland.

  A further round of bidding for monies for the financial year 2005-06 was undertaken and a further three sites joined the programme. These are NHS Highland, NHS Fife and NHS Lothian.

  The bidding process on each occasion was overseen by the programme Advisory Board and decisions were taken against defined criteria.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of the Doing Well By People with Depression initiative ministers can recommend and roll out across Scotland as a means of reducing the number of people prescribed anti-depressants.

Lewis Macdonald: The external evaluation of the Doing Well By People with Depression programme will report in June 2006 and will provide a solid information base on which to make decisions on the recommended initiatives for roll-out.

  The programme has aimed to increase access to treatment for mild to moderate depression in primary care and also provide increased choice of treatments for patients. The programme did not set targets for the reduction in the prescribing of anti-depressant medication. The evaluation will comment on the impact of providing guided self help services on increasing access and choice to a range of treatments and will draw out any learning about anti-depressant prescribing rates, along with other issues if this is available through the data gathered.

  The roll out of the learning from Doing Well By People with Depression will focus on sharing the evidence base to support service development, ensuring that effective approaches are incorporated into the NHS QIS Integrated Care Pathway for depression and also supporting service change as part of the Delivering For Health, Mental Health Delivery Plan.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people presenting with depression were offered self-help options as part of their treatment, broken down by NHS board area, in each year since 2001.

Lewis Macdonald: Referral option information is not available centrally. Treatment options are a matter for clinicians in consultation with all relevant professionals and the individual. Care options, including psychological interventions, cognitive behaviour therapy and medication will be considered as part of a care package designed to offer the best outcomes for the individual.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people presenting with depression were offered treatments such as psychological interventions, cognitive behaviour therapy and talking therapies as an alternative to the prescribing of anti-depressants, broken down by NHS board area, in each year since 2001.

Lewis Macdonald: Referral option information is not available centrally. Treatment options are a matter for Clinicians in consultation with all relevant professionals and the individual. Care options, including psychological interventions, cognitive behaviour therapy and medication will be considered as part of a care package designed to offer the best outcomes for the individual.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional planned expenditure it has set aside to tackle depression for the next two years.

Lewis Macdonald: No specific funding is being set aside to tackle depression. It is for each NHS board, working with their partners, to meet the health care needs of their area from the funds available to them, taking account of national and local priorities.

  NHS boards have been given a general allocation of £6.4 billion for 2006-07, an average increase 7.25% on last year and have been notified of an average indicative increase of 6% for 2007-08.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has calculated the financial support required to roll out the Doing Well By People with Depression initiative to all NHS board areas.

Lewis Macdonald: An external evaluation of the Doing Well initiative has been commissioned and will report over the summer. The outcomes will inform consideration of wider practical applications of the successes of the initiative, attention to which is continued through commitments made within Delivering for Health .

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into the prescribing of anti-depressants for people who may be suffering from social problems rather than psychological problems.

Lewis Macdonald: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. It supports research projects of a sufficiently high standard initiated by the research community in Scotland. This role is well known and advertised throughout the health care and academic community.

  CSO is currently funding a study of anti-depressant prescribing in primary care, which will consider the factors influencing doctors’ prescribing decisions including the socio-economic circumstances of patients. The study, which is being conducted by the University of Glasgow, is due to be completed in February 2007. The findings of this study are likely to be available in early summer 2007. An executive summary of the findings will be available on CSO’s website at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso at that time.

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in respect of the Administration of the Mental Health Tribunal following the interim decision in the petition of John Smith, Mental Health Officer for Fife Council, for a judicial review of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 which established the Tribunal and its Administration makes provision (at Schedule 2 Part 2) for the president of the tribunal to give guidance and directions as necessary to the Tribunal Administration. I understand that as a result of the judgement mentioned that the president has instructed the Tribunal Administration to ensure that a hearing is held for every application received within the time limits set down by the act. The Executive is not taking any action.

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, where a tribunal has appointed a curator ad litem under section 55(1) of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) Rules 2005, it considers that the Administration of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland is empowered under section 55(3) of the same statutory instrument to appoint a person of skill and on how many occasions the Administration has done so.

Lewis Macdonald: Rule 55(3) of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) (No. 2) Rules 2005 provides that the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (MHTS) or a convenor may appoint a person having appropriate skills and experience to assess whether a patient has the capacity to instruct a solicitor to represent the patient’s interests. The MHTS may do so by acting through its administration. The MHTS Administration has indicated that it has appointed such a person on 44 occasions since 5 October 2005.

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it is appropriate that a curator ad litem appointed by the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland should receive no written intimation of appointment during the period of his or her appointment.

Lewis Macdonald: It is for the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland to appoint a curator ad litem in appropriate cases. They must also (in terms of Rule 55 of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) (No.2) Rules 2005 ) provide all necessary information to a curator ad litem appointed to enable that curator to represent the patient’s interests in proceedings before the tribunal. The administrative procedures followed by the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland in carrying out these duties are for the tribunal to decide.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people presenting with mental health problems, other than depression, have been offered self-help options as part of their treatment, broken down by NHS board in each year since 2001.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people presenting with mental health problems, other than depression, were offered treatments such as psychological interventions, cognitive behaviour therapy and talking therapies in addition to, or as an alternative to, the prescribing of psychiatric drugs in each year since 2001.

Lewis Macdonald: Such referral information is not available centrally. Treatment options are a matter for Clinicians in consultation with all relevant professionals and the individual. Relevant care options will be considered as part of care packages designed to offer the best outcomes for the individual.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards use an independently administered, standard evaluation tool for all Doing Well By People with Depression initiatives and, if so, whether it will provide details of this tool.

Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards do not use an independently administered, standard evaluation tool for Doing Well by People with Depression initiatives. However, an external evaluation of the programme has been commissioned and is due to report its findings in June 2006. The pilot sites involved in the projects have provided data according to a nationally agreed dataset.

NHS Procurement

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring the impact of centralised NHS procurement on the existing supplier base.

Mr Andy Kerr: National Procurement will monitor the impact of National Contracts on the total current supplier base across NHSScotland and will publish a schedule later this year of the annual spend with SME suppliers versus total NHSScotland spend.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to remedy any shortages of consultants within NHS board areas.

Andy Kerr: In August last year, we published the National Workforce Planning Framework to introduce a new annual workforce planning cycle for NHSScotland, aligned with service and financial planning. It sets processes in place at local, regional and national levels for strategic planning across the range of staff groups, including consultants, that contribute to our NHS services. National decisions affecting workforce supply will be made on the basis of NHS board and region projections of demand.

  We have already increased the number of Specialist Registrar training places by 375 since 2001, to improve the available supply of specialists for consultant posts. A scheme has also been developed with NHS Education for Scotland to help improve the retention of this increased supply of Specialist Registrars after successful completion of training. The scheme involves establishing the career aspirations of specialist registrars at an early stage and alerting them to current and potential consultant vacancies across NHSScotland. At the same time, NHS boards will be alerted to Specialist Registrars about to gain their Certificate of Completion of Training.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS board has made representations to it seeking assistance with filling vacant consultancy posts.

Andy Kerr: The Executive has been in correspondence with all NHS boards regarding the filling of vacant consultant posts and is fully committed to increasing the numbers of consultants in post and reducing vacancy levels.

  NHS boards have drawn up detailed business plans setting out the actions they plan to take to fill current vacancies and these have been agreed with the Executive. Additional funding of £2.5 million has been allocated to boards to assist them in taking forward the actions contained in their plans. Other actions being taken by the Executive include placing an advert in the British Medical Journal referring to consultant vacancies in Scotland and introducing a scheme to match current Specialist Registrars to consultant vacancies. We are also in the process of developing a scheme to allow the advance appointment of Specialist Registrars into consultant posts.

NHS Waiting Times

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for a hip replacement was in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: The majority of patients who require in-patient and day case treatment, including hip joint replacement surgery, are treated quickly. Over 53% of patients treated in NHSScotland hospitals receive immediate treatment and never join a waiting list. Of those who wait, over 40% are admitted within one month and almost 70% within three months.

  For those patients who wait longer, the current national maximum waiting times is six months. This guaranteed waiting time will be reduced to 18 weeks from the end of 2007. On 31 December 2005, no patient with a guarantee had waited more than six months for hip joint replacement surgery.

  Median waiting times for hip replacement surgery are derived from information on patients treated during the year. This data includes patients who have had an Availability Status Code (ASC) applied, for example because they were medically unfit or had asked for their admission to be deferred for personal or social reasons. Periods of unavailability are therefore included in the calculations of median waiting times, which means that the waits are systematically over-stated.

  The median waiting times for hip joint replacement surgery, by NHS board of residence and by NHS hospital of treatment, for each of the last five years, is provided in the following tables.

  NHSScotland: Median1 Waiting Times for Hip Joint Replacement2 Surgery, by NHS Board of Residence. Years Ending 31 December 2001-05.

  

 
 Median Wait (Days)


 NHS Board
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005P


 Argyll and Clyde
 225
 229
 204
 171
 163


 Ayrshire and Arran
 170
 179
 168
 163
 175


 Borders
 173
 159
 167
 157
 145


 Dumfries and Galloway
 290
 277
 194
 163
 182


 Fife
 180
 171
 186
 204
 175


 Forth Valley
 239
 248
 203
 188
 180


 Grampian
 113
 109
 167
 182
 183


 Greater Glasgow
 271
 260
 255
 210
 145


 Highland
 124
 181
 183
 225
 173


 Lanarkshire
 159
 177
 171
 169
 173


 Lothian
 218
 302
 240
 195
 203


 Orkney Islands
 483
 673
 613
 983
 1833


 Shetland Islands
 1803
 2523
 2313
 2383
 2353


 Tayside
 125
 135
 163
 159
 149


 Western Isles
 633
 903
 973
 1033
 983


 NHSScotland
 173
 191
 191
 182
 172



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland. SMR01.

  Notes:

  1. Includes patients with Availability Status Codes.

  2. Hip joint replacement is defined as discharges with a main operation of "total hip replacement": Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures 4th Revision (OPSC4) codes W37 to W39.

  3. Figures should be treated with caution as they are derived from a possible unrepresentative small number of discharges (more than 14 but less than 50).

  NHSScotland: Median1 Waiting Times for Hip Joint Replacement2 Surgery, by NHS Hospital of Treatment. Years Ending 31 December 2001-05.

  

 
 Median Wait (Days)


 NHS Hospital
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005P


 Inverclyde Royal Hospital
 227
 189
 216
 178
 173


 Royal Alexandria Hospital
 187
 228
 186
 120
 136


 Vale of Leven District General Hospital
 -
 -
 -
 703
 1103


 Crosshouse Hospital
 194
 240
 221
 180
 180


 The Ayr Hospital
 158
 129
 131
 134
 175


 Borders General Hospital
 187
 156
 167
 169
 137


 Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary
 338
 329
 197
 174
 182


 Queen Margaret Hospital
 *
 *
 *
 *
 -


 Victoria Hospital
 182
 172
 187
 212
 182


 Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary
 279
 277
 200
 190
 -


 Stirling Royal Infirmary
 218
 229
 214
 179
 169


 Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
 -
 *
 *
 *
 -


 Dr Gray’s Hospital
 147
 152
 154
 182
 159


 Woodend Hospital
 102
 96
 162
 174
 203


 Glasgow Royal Infirmary
 320
 242
 230
 208
 116


 Southern General Hospital
 258
 237
 252
 210
 199


 Stobhill Hospital
 207
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Victoria Infirmary
 270
 348
 235
 163
 1693


 Western Infirmary/Gartnavel General
 251
 216
 228
 210
 201


 Raigmore Hospital
 124
 181
 182
 225
 175


 Hairmyres Hospital
 157
 138
 126
 159
 155


 Law Hospital
 853
 -
 -
 -
 


 Monklands Hospital
 159
 106
 136
 157
 199


 Wishaw General Hospital
 132
 197
 192
 187
 234


 Princess Margaret Rose Hospital 
 221
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
 *
 *
 *
 -
 -


 New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh 
 -
 307
 249
 182
 200


 St John’s Hospital at Howden
 *
 *
 *
 -
 -


 Ninewells Hospital
 190
 148
 156
 143
 149


 Perth Royal Infirmary
 109
 123
 165
 186
 136


 Stracathro Hospital
 109
 1233
 -
 -
 -


 Western Isles Hospital
 563
 743
 933
 843
 973


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 -
 300
 251
 211
 188



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland. SMR01.

  Notes:

  *Not shown as less than 15 discharges during the year.

  1. Includes patients with Availability Status Codes.

  2. Hip joint replacement is defined as discharges with a main operation of "total hip replacement": Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures 4th Revision (OPSC4) codes W37 to W39.

  3. Figures should be treated with caution as they are derived from a possible unrepresentative small number of discharges (more than 14 but less than 50).

NHS Waiting Times

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients waited longer than (a) six and (b) 12 months for (i) psychotherapy and (ii) cognitive behavioural therapy in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not available. Waiting times data is collected centrally only for first out-patient appointments at consultant-led out-patient clinics, following referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, and for hospital in-patient and day case treatment. Psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy services are provided by a range of health care professionals in a variety of clinical settings.

NHS Waiting Times

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the mean waiting times were for an (a) out-patient and (b) in-patient appointment in (i) each year since 1999 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is given in the following table.

  The distribution of waiting times for new out-patient appointments and in-patient/day case discharges is highly positively skewed. The arithmetic mean is an inappropriate statistical measure for such distributions because a very small number of long waiting times can have a disproportionate effect on the mean waiting time.

  The mean is not a target for NHSScotland; it is only a summary measure for patients who waited for a first out-patient appointment or in-patient/day case hospital care. Reducing maximum waiting times is the Scottish Executive’s priority for NHSScotland. The current national maximum waiting time for a first out-patient appointment and for in-patient and day case treatment is six months. This will be reduced to 18 weeks by the end of 2007.

  The in-patient/day case data in the table includes patients to whom an Availability Status Code (ASC) has been applied, for example because a patient has refused a reasonable offer of admission or whose medical condition prevents treatment. The recording of ASCs on in-patient/day case discharge data is not mandatory and patients with these codes cannot therefore be excluded from this analysis.

  NHSScotland: Mean Waiting Times For First Out-Patient Appointments and In-Patient/Day Case Treatment. Years Ended 31 March 1999 to 2005 and the Nine-Months Period April to December 2005.

  

 Appointments/ Discharges During:
 Mean Waiting Time (Days)


 New Out-Patient Appointments†
 In-Patient/Day Case Waiting List Admissions‡


 Year ended 31 March 1999
 64
 68


 Year ended 31 March 2000
 68
 63


 Year ended 31 March 2001
 73
 71


 Year ended 31 March 2002
 80
 72


 Year ended 31 March 2003
 91
 77


 Year ended 31 March 2004
 89
 82


 Year ended 31 March 2005
 94
 82


 April 2005 to December 2005P
 84
 77



  Source: ISD Scotland - SMR00 and SMR01.

  Notes:

  † Excludes cases with an Availability Status Code (ASC).

  ‡ Includes cases with an Availability Status Code (ASC).

  Data recording issues affecting in-patient/day case information for Glasgow Dental Hospital and School prior to 1 April 2004, and some data for the year ended 31 March 2005 may result in inaccuracies for the mean waiting times for residents of west of Scotland NHS boards (NHS Argyll and Clyde, NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Lanarkshire).

Older People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of NHS Lothian’s External Reference Group for Older People’s Services’ Final Report in March 2006, whether the Executive has any plans to implement the recommendations of the report across Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: The report was commissioned by NHS Lothian and the External Reference Group reported to the board. It is not for the Scottish Executive to implement but it has important implications for the care of older people across Scotland, and I will be drawing it to the attention of NHS chairs and chief executives.

Older People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when NHS Lothian will implement all 40 recommendations of its External Reference Group for Older People’s Services’ Final Report.

Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for NHS Lothian.

Older People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funds will be made available to NHS Lothian to implement in full the recommendations of its External Reference Group for Older People’s Services’ Final Report.

Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards are given an annual allocation of funds. It is for each NHS board to meet the health care needs of its residents from the level of funding available, taking account of national and local priorities.

Older People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funds will be made available to all NHS boards to implement in full the recommendations of NHS Lothian’s External Reference Group for Older People’s Services’ Final Report.

Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards are given an annual allocation of funds. It is for each NHS board to meet the health care needs of its resident population from within the level of funding available. Health boards should consider whether their services for older people could benefit from any of the recommendations of this report.

Older People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact NHS Lothian’s External Reference Group for Older People’s Services’ Final Report will have on local authorities across Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: Local authorities across Scotland must set their own priorities. In doing so, they should take account of existing good practice, evidence based research and formal guidance and, along with their health colleagues, consider whether their services for older people could benefit from any of the recommendations of this report.

People with Disabilities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in respect of the installation of disabled access in local authority buildings, broken down by local authority.

George Lyon: The information requested is not held centrally. It is for individual local authorities to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in relation to access to buildings by members of the public.

Planning

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the city region plans proposed in the Planning Bill will be drawn up by permanent, dedicated teams of planners on the model of Glasgow and Clyde Valley or whether the alternative model employed in the Edinburgh and Lothian Structure Plan process will be used.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive’s preferred model for drawing up the new strategic development plans (SDPs) is a joint committee and a dedicated team of officials, in order to effectively promote the best strategy for the city region as a whole. We want these arrangements to work on a voluntary basis and intend to issue guidance to that effect. Where voluntary arrangements fail, the Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill provides ministers with powers to direct that one of the constituent authorities assigns someone to manage the preparation of the SDP with others assigned to assist. The Executive does not, however, intend to name specific people or posts in this regard.

Prescription Charges

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to exempt people diagnosed with cancer from prescription charges.

Lewis Macdonald: No decision on whether to change the current criteria for exemption on medical grounds will be taken until the Scottish Executive’s review of NHS prescription charges and exemption arrangements is complete.

  The consultation phase of the review is under way and responses are invited up to the closing date of 30 April 2006. The Executive will subsequently consider what action to take, based on the outcome of the review.

Rail Network

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-23873 and S2W-23874 by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006, whether it considers it to be desirable that new train stations at Abronhill and Mossend are developed.

Tavish Scott: Transport Scotland will consider the case for the provision of new stations at Abronhill and at Mossend if a suitable case for either is presented for consideration by the Regional Transport Partnership concerned.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Rail Network

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23875 by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006, what benefits it considers may be derived from a new Ravenscraig railway station.

Tavish Scott: The case for a new station at Ravenscraig is being developed by the local authorities and a private sector developer in partnership. The basis for the proposal is that the commercial and retail development in Ravenscraig will serve a wide catchment area requiring good access, and that a station site in Ravenscraig will provide a good opportunity for bus-rail integration. However, a detailed evaluation has not yet been submitted for my consideration.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Rail Network

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23875 by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006, what services it envisages will use a new Ravenscraig railway station.

Tavish Scott: The proposed station at Ravenscraig is being developed by the Ravenscraig Partnership. We await their detailed evaluation of the service options.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Rail Network

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23924 by Tavish Scott on 16 March 2006, what services it envisages will use a new Allandale railway station.

Tavish Scott: The proposed services from Allandale station in the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Study would comprise four trains per hour to Glasgow Queen Street via Cumbernauld, two of which would start from Allandale and two come through from Falkirk Grahamston. In addition, if the proposed Motherwell to Stirling service is introduced, these services would also call at Allandale.

  These services are all subject to further evaluation and alternative service options may be considered.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23994 by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2006, how this answer indicates whether or not it has discussed with Her Majesty’s Government the briefing paper sent by the Foreign Office to the Prime Minister’s Office stating that people captured by British forces could have been sent illegally to interrogation centres to establish whether there are any links between these reports and the allegations that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of "extraordinary rendition".

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has regular discussions with the UK Government on a variety of issues and across a variety of portfolios. However, all such discussions are subject to an established undertaking of mutual confidentiality so as to allow for the free and frank discussion of policy between the two administrations.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23834 by Cathy Jamieson on 15 March 2006, whether Her Majesty’s Government has given any indication that the Executive will be required to contribute to any UK response to Senator Marty’s final report once it has been published in full.

Cathy Jamieson: As Senator Marty’s inquiry is still on-going, it is too early to speculate whether Her Majesty’s Government will require a contribution from the Scottish Executive to any response.

  I therefore cannot add to the answer I gave to question S2W-23834.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23743 by Colin Boyd QC on 14 March 2006, whether, without stating what the advice was, it has sought advice as to whether the process known as "extraordinary rendition" is illegal in Scots law or international law.

Colin Boyd QC: As I stated in my answer to question S2W-23743, answered on 14 March 2006, the Scottish Executive does not generally disclose whether the advice of the Scottish Law Officers has been sought or obtained in relation to any particular matter.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Residential Care

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate why the Care Commission looked at nutritional standards in only 13% of its inspections of care homes.

Lewis Macdonald: Each year the Care Commission selects five core standards for each type of care service on which all inspections in that year are based. The inspection process also gives the Care Commission the flexibility to cover non-core standards where that is appropriate or necessary. In both 2002-03 and 2003-04, the first two years of the commission’s existence, standard 13 of the National Care Standards for Adult Care Homes, which covers nutrition, was one of the core standards and all adult care homes were inspected against it.

  One of the core standards for adult care homes in 2004-05 was standard 14 on health care, which addresses staff awareness of residents’ nutritional needs and keeping those needs under review. In addition to inspecting against the core standards for that year, the commission also inspected against standard 13 in at least 13% of care homes. This was done for a variety of reasons, for example where the Care Commission Officer was following up recommendations from the previous report, or where something had come to light during the inspection.

  The Care Commission will be inspecting against standard 13 again in 2006-07, when improving nutrition in care homes will be an inspection theme.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available the report of the public local inquiry into proposals to upgrade the A80 prepared by the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit in advance of it making a decision and, if not, whether it will consider making it available to those who gave evidence to the reporter.

Tavish Scott: The reporter’s report will not be made available until such times as a decision has been reached by Scottish ministers.

  When Scottish ministers have reached their decision, it will be made public by sending copies of the report and the decision letter to objectors. Additionally, the report and the decision letter will be placed on the Executive’s website.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23856 by Tavish Scott on 20 March 2006, what the combined cost would be of the Executive’s estimated cost of its planned on-line upgrade of the A80 plus the cost of the Auchenkilns interchange project and the cost of the millennium bridge.

Tavish Scott: The estimated cost of constructing the on-line route is between £127 and £146 million. The cost of the Auchenkilns Junction was £25 million. The cost of the Millennium Bridge was £2.44 million.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23921 by Tavish Scott on 20 March 2006, in what way this answer explains the Executive’s rationale for preferring to upgrade the A80 on its on-line route to full motorway status rather than constructing the M80 through the identified Kelvin Valley route and whether it will now outline that rationale.

Tavish Scott: The choice of an on-line route was fully discussed at the Public Local Inquiry held in October 2005 where officials were able to answer specific questions on this issue. As the report is currently being considered, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22868 by Tavish Scott on 21 February 2006, how much was spent on providing bilingual road signs in 2005.

Tavish Scott: The total spent on bilingual signing during financial year 2005-06 was £191,500.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why Higher and Further Education Students’ Income, Expenditure and Debt in Scotland 2004-2005 excluded data from students who started their course before August 2001.

Nicol Stephen: Higher and Further Students’ Income, Expenditure and Debt in Scotland 2004-05 aimed at collecting comprehensive data on full-time students’ income, expenditure and debt, and to identify any differences by students’ socio-economic and institutional characteristics. The focus of the survey is on the condition of students receiving support under the mainstream arrangements that came into place in 2001, primarily:

  abolition of tuition fees for all who undertake an undergraduate course for the first time;

  the re-introduction of student grants for young people from low-income families;

  retaining means tested student loans for student living costs but changing maximum non-means-tested loan rates to take account of tuition fee arrangements, and

  introduction of supplementary allowances for higher education students lone parent grant and lone parent childcare grant in addition to existing supplementary grants (e.g. Disabled Students Allowance).

Tourism

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support proposals for a Scotland-wide heritage trail highlighting the life and achievements of Robert the Bruce.

Patricia Ferguson: Although the Executive has not received any representations regarding support for this project, we welcome proposals such as this which are designed to increase visitor numbers to Scotland and enhance the visitor experience while here. There are a number of organisations with an interest in tourism heritage trails, including the National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland and VisitScotland’s Challenge Fund.

Tourism

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been made by tourist agencies regarding the proposed establishment of a heritage trail highlighting the life and achievements of Robert the Bruce.

Patricia Ferguson: To date, the Scottish Executive has not received any representations regarding this.

Transport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23858 by Tavish Scott on 20 March 2006, whether this answer indicates that (a) the Executive provided no funding or (b) no other public funding was used to finance the construction of the millennium bridge.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive provided no direct funding. The bridge was part of British Waterway’s Millennium Link project which was funded by the following organisations - the Millennium Commission, Scottish Enterprise, British Waterways, Strathclyde European Partnership, Eastern Scotland European Fund, Glasgow City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, North Lanarkshire Council, West Lothian Council, Falkirk Council, East Dunbartonshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Council. The funding totalled £84.5 million which British Waterways utilised for all the specific projects comprising the Millennium Link.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been, or will be, taken to ensure that (a) projects funded under the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund will continue to be funded in 2006-07 and beyond and (b) projects are advised about their funding in good time in order to avoid their closure.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision will be made about the budget and activities of the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund for 2006-07 and when that decision will be announced.

Robert Brown: The fund currently supports renewable core funding for headquarter costs, non-renewable project funding and one-off capital grants to voluntary organisations.

  For 2006-07 it was decided that applications would be accepted from organisations in receipt of core headquarters grants which were due to expire in March 2006. Assessment of these applications has been completed and all applicants have been advised of their awards for 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the projects funded by the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund and, if so, when it will provide this information.

Robert Brown: The Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund (UVSF) supports renewable core funding for headquarter costs, non-renewable project funding and one-off capital grants.

  Details of organisations currently supported by the Fund are provided as follows.

  HQ Grant Recipient Organisations

  

 Youth Policy


 Abernethy Trust


 Boys’ Brigade


 BTCV


 Boys and Girls’ Clubs of Scotland


 Caledonian Awards


 Campaigners


 Chess Scotland


 Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council


 Community Service Volunteers


 Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme


 Fabb Scotland


 Fairbridge in Scotland


 Fast Forward


 Girls’ Brigade


 Guide Association


 International Voluntary Service


 Iona Community


 Ocean Youth Trust


 Scottish Association of Young Farmers


 Scottish Centres


 Scottish Crusaders


 Scottish National Council of YMCAs


 Scottish Youth Parliament


 SSC (A Club for the Youth of Scotland)


 Scout Association


 Venture Scotland


 Woodcraft Folk


 Youth Scotland


 YouthLink Scotland


 YWCA of Great Britain


 John Muir Trust 


 LGBT Youth Scotland


 Looked After Children


 Adoption UK


 BAAF


 Family Care


 Fostering Network


 Scottish Child Law Centre


 Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (STAAF)


 Who Cares? Scotland


 Children General


 Children in Scotland


 Article 12


 Scottish Women’s Aid (Children)


 Children’s Parliament


 Child Protection


 Childline


 Children First


 Early Education and Childcare - including disabilities and parenting


 National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries


 National Playbus Association Scotland


 Play Scotland


 Scottish Childminding Association


 Scottish Out of School Care Network


 Scottish Pre School Play Association


 National Playing Field Association


 CNSA


 Capability Scotland


 Homestart


 Parentline 


 Sense Scotland


 Contact a Family Scotland


 Cruse Bereavement (Scotland)


 Parent Network Scotland


 One Parent Families Scotland


 Butterfly Trust


 CCNUK


 Families Outside


 Sleep Scotland


 Parenting across Scotland


 SWSI Section 9


 Children in Scotland


 Scottish Childminding Association


 Family Support Organisations


 Couple Counselling Scotland (core and training grants)


 Family Mediation Scotland (core and training grants)


 Scottish Marriage Care (core and training grants)


 Stepfamily Scotland (core and training grants)


 Family Mediation Borders


 Family Mediation Central


 Family Mediation Dumfries and Galloway


 Family Mediation Fife (Tayside)


 Family Mediation Grampian


 Family Mediation Highland


 Family Mediation Lothian


 Family Mediation Tayside


 Family Mediation West


 Family Mediation Western Isles


 Special Education/ ASN Grants


 AFASIC


 Govan Law Centre


 Partners in Advocacy


 Highland Children’s Forum


 Health


 Action for Sick Children


 Bobath Scotland


 Breastfeeding Network


 Brittle Bone Society


 Children in Scotland


 Child Hospice Association Scotland


 Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Association


 Education and Resources for Childhood Continence


 Hearts and Minds (Clowndoctors)


 National Childbirth Trust


 Genetic Interest Group


 Scottish Network for Families Affected by Drugs



  Project Grants

  

 Children General


 NCH Factfile


 NCH Self Harm Project


 Aberlour Childcare Trust - participation worker


 Child Protection


 Child Protection in Sport (Children 1st)


 Safe, Strong & Free Project


 Roshni


 Early Education & Childcare including disabilities and parenting


 SPARK (Princess Royal Sports & Community Trust)


 CCNUK


 Looked After Children


 Reading Rich (NCH)


 Roc Project (Aberlour)


 Route 14-25 (Princes Trust)


 Mentoring Project


 Kibble: intensive fostering services for adolescent males


 Youth Policy


 National Peer Education (Fastforward)


 RNID Youth services for young deaf people


 Section 9 Training Grant


 Befriending Network


 Family Mediation etc


 Couple Counselling Scotland Helpline Research


 Scottish Marriage Care Young Parents Relationships


 Special Education/ ASN


 AFASIC


 Caledonian Family Awards


 Capability Scotland


 Children in Scotland (SNAG)


 Down’s Syndrome Scotland


 Drake Music Project Scotland


 Enable Scotland


 Govan Law Centre


 MOVE Scotland


 National Autistic Society (Transitions)


 National Autistic Society (Post Diagnostic Officer)


 Project Ability


 Scottish Dyslexia Trust


 Shaw Trust


 Stories in the Air


 The Yard


 Equity


 A:Live Collusion Theatre Performance


 Health


 Neurofibromatosis Association


 Action for Sick Children

Waste Management

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are being made to support community environment groups whose funding will be spent by the end of March but whose follow-on funding from the Strategic Waste Fund, INCREASE or similar sources will not be available for some months.

Ross Finnie: We have received a number of bids to the Strategic Waste Fund (SWF) from local authorities which include support for community sector groups in their area. As with any bid to the SWF we will need to ensure that value for money criteria are met before an award is made.

  In the meantime groups can apply to the INCREASE Programme for support (www.increase-programme.org.uk) or approach their local authority for assistance.